With the ushering of the industrial revolution, the use of natural resources have dramatically increased. The impact of human interaction towards the environment has gotten larger since then.
The further discovery of chlorofluorocarbons which was extensively used before for air conditioning and as a propellant. When this was being used extensively before, the effect of it towards our atmosphere was not yet observed. Now we know that the use of CFCs do a lot of harm towards the ozone layer. This ozone layer is important because it is what protects us from the sun's UV rays. The hole created with the advent of environmental effects have detrimental effects to our health.
Luckily, in 1990, the Clean Air Act was put into place so that the repair of the ozone layer will start again. The latest news on this is that the ozone layer has been seeing massive improvement compared to before. The damage is stabilising but full recovery of the layer will not be done until 2070 according to NASA.
This prompts us to do more for our ozone layer and our environment. Addressing this problem cannot be done by simply looking at it on a case by case basis. The environment is a highly sophisticated systems which are joined together. To address this problem, we must also address other environmental concerns. It is not enough that we reduce CFCs but leave factories spewing toxic waste to rivers and other bodies of water. In the Philippines, I think massive reform is needed so that our natural resource rich land and water will not be further polluted. Going back to the problem on illegal logging, it is connected to this because trees are what clean our atmosphere and with the dwindling number of thriving forests, the atmosphere will just get polluted more especially with unregulated factories and electrical plants burning coal. Through this, we can see that repairing the already damaged environment will need much more than a single solution.
On a personal level, we can all do our part in saving the environment. Planting a single tree or some small plants is not very taxing; in addition, in the long run, it can be very beneficial to ourselves as it helps our environment. If all of us do even a small thing for the benefit of the environment, it will create a big impact. Maybe big enough to reverse what has already been damaged.
This blog was written in reaction to:
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-ozone-hole-recovery-nasa-20131212,0,2385709.story#axzz2nLswj0v4
References
http://www.epa.gov/ozone/science/sc_fact.html
http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/airpage.nsf/webpage/Repairing+The+Ozone+Layer
No comments:
Post a Comment